The present invention generally relates to methods and apparatus for exercising the abdominal muscles and gluteal muscles. A variety of exercise equipment have been developed to exercise abdominal muscles and gluteal muscles. These devices range from adjustable inclined surfaces with foot stirrups for securing a user's feet in place while sit-ups are performed to equipment in which the user sits and moves forward against adjustable resistance. Another variation of this general abdominal and gluteal exercise equipment is a floor positioned curved rocker system for support of the reclined user's upper body. As the user performs regular sit-ups, the device rocks back and forth for the full range of exercise motion.
Information relevant to attempts to address these problems can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,441,473, issued Aug. 15, 1995, U.S. Pat. No. 5,545,114, issued Aug. 13, 1996, U.S. Pat. No. 5,897,470 issued Apr. 27, 1999, U.S. Pat. No. 5,931,769, issued Aug. 3, 1999, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,876, issued Sep. 7, 1999. However, each one of these references suffers from one or more of the following disadvantages: limited range of motion or breadth of exercise range; unwieldy size and lack of portability; lack of support assist to beginner exercisers; lack of impact adsorption at the full extension of exercise motion; lack of scalable adjustment to the support assist available to the exerciser, simplicity in use and instruction; lack of an aerobic exercise mode or component, lack of combination of exercise for both abdominal and gluteal muscle groups in the same apparatus, and expense.
These various drawbacks can discourage beginners or non-athletic users from participating in a conditioning and strengthening regimen for abdominal or gluteal exercise. When used without training or instruction, these apparatus can actually injure the user from strain or improper exercise motion. Many of these systems are too costly or unwieldily for home use or travel.
The most significant limitation of the prior-art devices is the failure to duplicate the range of motion necessary to condition the upper, lower, oblique or lateral abdominal muscles and the gluteus maximus muscles while assisting the novice or beginner user in offering scalable impact absorption at the full range of extension for any of the associated exercise positions. This limitation increases the likelihood of improper exercise form, injury, or discontinued use due to the lack of any tangible benefit from the exercise.
For the foregoing reasons there is need for an improved abdominal muscle and gluteal muscle exercise apparatus and methods which employ a means for impact absorption at the full extension range of abdominal exercise motion.